


always on the hunt for a little more time

by laira348



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, Immortality, Minor Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, i made both of them immortal cause i can't do angst, steve rogers is a bisexual mess, that's not relevant to the story that much but whatevs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 12:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12458118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laira348/pseuds/laira348
Summary: "You’ll never guess who resurfaced again," Steve said when she let him into her office.She sighed deeply. "Please tell me it’s not fucking Nat.""It’s fucking Nat," he confirmed. Maria put her head in her hands.





	always on the hunt for a little more time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mindfullofstories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindfullofstories/gifts).



> Based on http://cityelf.tumblr.com/post/150695606768 . Sorry in advance for the brooklyn nine nine references.

Immortality involved a lot more paperwork than people probably thought. The hiding, faking deaths, getting papers and fake identities, it all involved a disturbing amount of bureaucracy. At the centre of all that was S.H.I.E.L.D., or the Strategic Help for the Immortal and Enhanced Legal Department.

Most immortals came to them out of their volition, especially lately with rise of technology and the subsequent fear of discovery. But not everyone cared about secrecy.

It was Maria’s job to make them cooperate.

"You’ll never guess who resurfaced again," Steve said when she let him into her office.

She sighed deeply. "Please tell me it’s not fucking Nat."

"It’s fucking Nat," he confirmed. Maria put her head in her hands.

Nat was infamous in the immortal community and the source of a headache for many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, mainly Maria. She was at least six centuries old and gave roughly zero fucks about protocol and safety and not getting her cover blown.

"Are you sure it’s not a red herring?" she asked, grasping at straws. "Like when she photobombed the tourist’s photos in Saint Petersburg six years ago?"

"’Fraid not," he shook his head and handed her the file. Maria shuffled through it. "She’s got a whole new identity and is on her way to fame. Again."

The file didn’t have all that much information. Her new name was Natalie Rushman and she was an actress born in 1984 - Maria scoffed - in New York. Her only roles were a couple of minor characters in tv series so far, but they could never be too careful. With the internet someone could easily connect her with one of the dozen public personas Nat had over the centuries.

"Alright. Keep me updated. Frequently."

"Will do, boss."

Nat was arguably their department’s biggest problem. Sure, there was Loki, but thanks to his brother they had all the intel they needed. Nat was a mystery.

Even Maria, who led the investigation before her promotion as the head of the department, only knew a few things. She was an assassin, or at least used to be. She was fond of names starting with the letter N. Maria’s research suggested she might be from Russia, but even that was uncertain.

She enjoyed annoying SHIELD, that was certain. Her interactions with Maria mostly resembled a game played by a cat and a mouse, only Maria was never sure which of them was the mouse.

She could still remember the first time she met Nat like it was yesterday, even though it happened almost two centuries ago, as good memory was one of the advantages of being essentially immortal. She was calling herself Nadia at the time and somehow managed to get herself framed for murder. (Maria knew she didn’t do it, because she was tailing her and therefore knew she had an alibi.)

It didn’t really seem to bother Nat. She was sitting in her cell, awaiting ‘trial’ when Maria got there.

"Just like Budapest," she said to her conversionally, like Maria was a friend she could trade inside jokes with. Like Maria knew Nat even stayed in Budapest at some point.

"I’m here to rescue you on behalf of shield," Maria informed her with all the dignity she could muster.

Nat burst out laughing. "That’s a good one."

Maria didn’t even blink.

"Oh," Nat’s laughter died out. "You’re serious."

"Obviously."

Nat smirked. Her eyes were sparkling with amusement and for a moment Maria forgot why she was there. "I don’t need rescuing. A baby could get out of this jail. Besides, I’m curious to see how it’s gonna play out."

Maria stared at her, uncomprehending. "This is a murder trial. They’re fond of executions and convinced you’re guilty. And even if they weren’t, they all hate you, because you’re a horrible neighbor."

"Can’t be worse than Budapest," Nat shrugged.

"Do you find this funny?"

"A bit."

"SHIELD wants to talk to you."

"I can’t imagine why." She smiled again, mischievously, like they were sharing a secret. Maria couldn’t wrap her head around it.

"You’re way too reckless with your identity. Sooner or later someone’s gonna put it together."

"And no one’s gonna believe them."

"You leave a trail of evidence."

"But shield’s taking care of that trail, aren’t you?"

"What else are we supposed to do?"

Nat finally dropped the charade and sighed."You’re not gonna let it go, are you?"

"No."

"Can I trade you for information?"

Maria hesitated. "What information?"

"Some evidence of my existence shield would want to take care of?"

"I’m not here to clean up after you."

"You kind of are, um. I didn’t catch your name."

"Agent."

"And do you have a name?"

"Do you?"

"You can call me Nat."

"Maria."

"I like it. Listen, I’m not gonna bother you for a couple decades, okay? There’s a place where I hide some of my stuff," she handed her a piece of paper with a map and instructions on it. "Some paintings I didn’t want to part with. I’m sure you’d want those stuffed somewhere where no one can find them."

"And in return you want me to let you go."

"Now you’re getting it."

Maria thought it over. "Alright. Good luck getting out of jail, Nat."

"See you ‘round, Marushka."

Maria only saw her handful of times over the decades after that. She always seemed to get there just a second after Nat disappeared. She got a glimpse here and there, sometimes Nat left her notes and clues. She kept chasing her, but she was always a step ahead.

She was relieved that it was someone else’s problem now when she was promoted, but a part of her missed their game, truth be told. Most of the time she was too busy to think of that. But when Nat resurfaces, there’s always this stab of pain and she wishes she could get away from her desk and follow her wherever she leads her.

They still had all the things Nat traded them and that they’ve confiscated. The paintings Maria brought that day were among the most interesting. No one really checked the archive though so if she had one of the portraits at home no one was the wiser. It wasn’t anything personal; it was an exceptional work of art. It didn’t deserve to be stuck in a dusty old archive.

She mostly forgot about it again, with how busy she was. Sometimes Steve came to her office with new developments, but so far there was no danger of recognition. She even made the time to go watch the first movie Nat played in. For strictly work purposes, of course.

It was awful, but Nat was a good actress. She will only get more famous with time and that won’t bode anything good.

*

It was a rainy afternoon. Maria had a stock of paperwork on her desk, all of it endlessly boring. She was doodling absent mindedly on the corner of a report when someone knocked on her door.

"Come in."

It was Steve. He looked shaken but Maria wasn’t really surprised at that; he had this look anytime he dived into the Winter Soldier file.

"Is this room secure?"

That made her pause. Why wouldn’t it be? "What do you mean?"

"I think there’s a leak in shield."

Maria drew a sharp breath. "Explain."

"There’s a blog with conspiration theories surrounding Natalie Rushman. Who ever’s running that blog managed to link several of her past identities together. No one’s treating it seriously in the world, but the level of knowledge is impossible for a simple bystander. It must have been someone with access to our files."

"Damn it." Maria did her best not to swear at work, but a leak could endanger their entire existence. All of their employees were immortal or otherwise enhanced themselves, they wouldn’t want their secret to be discovered. Most likely. It could also be a hacker, but the possibility of having a mole terrified Maria. "I’ll get Stark to look at our servers. You will go and make contact with Rushman. I know our previous attempts to talk to her have been...unsuccessful, but in the light of the latest development maybe she might be in a better mood. Take Sam with you." She hesitated. They haven’t tried to directly contact her in decades. And they don’t know much, but they know she’s a really good fighter. Maybe it was time to bring in the big guns. "And Diana."

"My fantasy threesome."

Maria raised her eyebrow.

"Of agents on a case. Dismissed," Steve said and left the room in an attempt to save his dignity.

It didn’t work.

*

They decided the best place to approach Rushman would be at a gala; it’s public enough that she probably won’t be able to just fight them or run. Hopefully. Steve might be a super soldier but he wasn’t very optimistic about his fighting chances with her.

Sam and Diana, on the other hand. Diana was basically a goddess. She was stronger than even Thor. It didn’t hurt that she was also worthy of his hammer, even if she preferred her sword and lasso. Her sword was currently strapped to her back, most of it hidden in her dress. Steve was sure she also had the lasso somewhere but he wasn’t about to ask.

And Sam. Sam. Sam was an angel; literally that is. Most of the time you couldn’t see his beautiful wings, hidden with one of Wanda’s spells; but everyone still knew it from the moment they saw him. And as an angel he was strong and more than well equipped to fight. He also looked heavenly in a suit.

Steve felt like an idiot. His hands were too empty, too vulnerable without his shield; he only had one knife taped to his calf. His suit kept itching. It was moments like this her really regretted not being able to get drunk.

"I don’t understand," Diana said. There were waiting for Rushman to show up. Well, at least Diana was. Steve was pretending he wasn’t watching Sam as he chatted with someone at the bar. "You keep complaining about never getting send in the field and when they finally send us you don’t seem very happy."

"I meant the kind of mission where you get to punch people, not the red carpet."

She laughed. "But you know what people do at these events? Dance. You should go dance with Sam."

Steve choked on his drink. "That’s-this is a work event."

"Yes. So work on blending in. Go dance with Sam."

He looked in Sam’s direction again. He was laughing at something the other person said and Steve couldn’t take his eyes of him. "I’m really bad at dancing."

"I’m sure he won’t mind." She nudged him forward. He stumbled but kept on walking. Sam must have noticed him at some point, because when Steve stopped in front of him and looked up he was already looking at him.

"Wouldyouliketodancewithme?"

"What?"

Steve took a deep breath. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Sam smiled. "Sure. As long as you don’t step on my toes too much."

*

Diana watched the room intently for any sign of Rushman, but every once in a while her gaze slid back to Steve and Sam. Steve wasn’t exaggerating; he really was a bad dancer, though she suspected nerves might play a part in that. Still it was nice to watch their tentativeness.

Finally she spotted Rushman. She gave a covert signal to Sam and Steve - luckily, they weren’t too wrapped up in each other to notice - and walked towards her. Slowly, so she wouldn’t spook her, but not so slow that Rushman would disappear before she got to her.

That didn’t seem to be the case. She sipped her drink and ignored the three muscled figures walking towards her.

"Hello," Rushman smirked when they got close enough to hear, not even bothering to look up. "I’m prepared to make a deal."

That wasn’t what they were expecting.

"Excuse me?" Steve asked.

"I will do what you want. Cooperate. Whatever. On one condition."

"Here we go," Sam muttered.

"I will only talk to Agent Hill."

"Commander Hill," Diana corrected her.

"Oh," Rushman said softly. "That explains why she’s no longer the one chasing me. Commander Hill then." She took a pen out of her purse and scribbled something on a napkin and then handed it to Diana. There was a date and time and the words ‘you’ll know where to find me’.

"Give this to her."

"And what, let you go now? How do we know you’ll show up?" Sam asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You don’t. You don’t have to trust me; but ask Commander Hill. I’ve never lied to SHIELD. I’ve been uncooperative, sure, but I’ve never lied. And as a sign of good faith." She threw something small at Steve.

"What is this?" he asked.

"I trust you’ve seen a flash drive before?"

"I meant what’s on it?"

"Information on the Winter Soldier."

Steve drew in a sharp breath.

"Be careful with it. You might not like the answers to your questions." She downed the rest of her drink and smiled. "Well I’m off. Say hi to Marushka for me!"

They stared after her in silence, too confused to try and stop her. None of them said anything for a moment until Sam broke the silence. "Marushka?"

*

"I notice a distinct lack of Natalie Rushman with you," Maria said when Diana, Sam and Steve entered her office. "Considering the lack of injuries and Steve’s sad ‘I can’t punch people’ face I’m guessing she ran before you could engage?"

"She didn’t, actually," Diana informed her. "She wants to cooperate."

"Really? Why is she not here then?"

"She’ll only speak to you." She handed Maria the napkin.

"Oh." She stared at it for a bit. Her face was unreadable, but her voice was slightly watery when she spoke again. "Anything else?"

"She gave us intel on the Winter Soldier," Sam said.

"Permission to go beat up a couple bastards, Commander?" Steve asked, his jaw clenched.

"No. You’ll bring them in for questioning. And Sam is going with you, you’re way too emotionally compromised. Diana, you’ll help Thor with finding his brother. Dismissed."

Sam and Steve left, but Diana lingered.

"Anything on your mind, agent?"

"Won’t you need backup for your meeting with Rushman?"

Maria shook her head. "Your concern is touching, but I’ll be fine. Nat’s an asshole, but the odly honorable sort. She won’t hurt me."

*

The place has changed an awful lot in two hundred years. There was a dinner now, in the spot the jail used to be, conveniently. Maria ordered an espresso and waited, occasionally taking a sip. It was quite good, actually.

"You should try the pecan pie, it’s delicious."

She looked up. There she was; standing there in a middle of a dinner with bad lightning but good coffee, looking like an ethereal being, if ethereal beings wore caps and fake glasses. (Maria knows several of them through work and they do, actually.)

"Hey, Marushka."

"Nat," she signed. She hasn’t seen her in so long, at least not in person. She didn’t know what to say; she should get right to business, but it felt wrong to treat this encounter so impersonally.

Nat slid into the booth and they shared a moment of awkward silence while they both waited for the other to start talking. She cleared her throat. "So. How have you been?"

Maria fiddled with her cup. "Mostly fine. You?"

"Yeah, me too."

Crickets were probably chirping outside. Maria wouldn’t know; she couldn’t hear a damn thing over the sound of her heartbeat. "So, um, I’m really glad you came." The smudge on the table suddenly became the most interesting thing in the entire dinner. "It’s...good." She cringed internally. She was a smart, accomplished woman. She should be able to string together a couple simple sentences.

"Yeah, well. Yeah."

Maria took a deep breath. _Come on. Be professional._ "The main reason I contacted you is that someone created a blog that links some of your past lives together with your current one. We think they must have somehow got to our files."

"I know," Nat nodded. "That was me."

Maria blinked several times before speaking in monotone. "What."

"I created the website."

Maria hit Nat in the shoulder.

"Ouch!" she yelped. "What was that for?"

"For making me think I have a mole in my organization."

"I had to get your attention somehow," she paused, gazing into Maria’s eyes. "I mean, I also did it to fuck with people, but mostly I just wanted to see you."

Maria released her breath sharply. She felt like an exposed bullet wound, completely vulnerable, and for once she didn’t know how to hide it. It took her some time to find her breath. "You could’ve just called like a normal person, you know? There’s this newfangled invention called the mobile phone," she babbled, an edge of hysteria in her voice. "You can just call people from anywhere. You can even download apps and-"

She didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence because Nat kissed her. Maria kissed her back after couple seconds of confusion. She leaned further over the table and put her hand into Nat’s hair. Nat was holding the lapels of her jacket and didn’t let them go even when they separated.

"I know what a cell phone is, Marushka," Nat murmured.

Maria didn’t reply. A moment passed before she said anything. "You never let me catch you," Maria whispered, still a bit in shock.

"It was fun to make you chase me," Nat shrugged, going for nonchalant and missing by a mile. "I just didn’t think you’d suddenly disappear."

"I-work-"

Nat moved one of her hands on her shoulder. "I know."

Maria shook her head in an attempt to clear it up; she was still here for a reason, even if the situation was most unusual. "You have to take the website down. And get out of the spotlight."

"Gladly. There is just so much attention all the time." She shuddered. "I preferred it when I was a silent mystery for people to admire from afar."

Maria laughed. "You brought that onto yourself."

"I suppose,“ she said. It seemed that even after they kissed for the first time they were both still awkward as hell. “I’ll go grab myself some coffee and I’ll bring you a piece of the pecan pie."

"I’m allergic to pecans."

"Currant, then. That one’s tasty too."

"Sure." Maria smiled to herself. “As long as you don’t run. It took us two hundred years to kiss, I don’t want to wait another hundred before I can take you home.“

Nat laughed.


End file.
